Hofstra ace John Rooney continued his phenomenal season on Friday, going the distance in a 7-1 win over Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) combatant College of Charleston Cougars at University Field.

In the midst of a six-game losing streak, the Pride turned to Rooney to do what he does best – win. Hofstra evened its record at 15-15 with the victory over the CAA-frontrunner Cougars.

“I didn’t even think about the losing streak, you know when you go out there you just got to focus on your job,” Rooney said.

Evan Sisk took the mound for the Cougars and pitched with a lead behind him from the get-go.

Charleston struck first in the opening inning, reaching base on an Austin Gauthier throwing error and scoring on a single up the middle from Luke Morgan to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Sisk kept Hofstra off the board in the first inning, allowing only one hit, but both pitchers went 1-2-3 in their second inning of work.

Gauthier made his second error of the game in the third, but Rooney was able to retire the side without further damage. The Pride was kept scoreless again in the bottom of the inning.

Rooney sat the Cougars down in order in the fourth before Sisk forced a double play in the bottom half to end the inning. Vito Friscia had both of Hofstra’s hits through the first four innings.

Both teams went three up and three down again in the fifth.

Charleston threatened to score in the sixth with runners on the corners. Tommy Richter led the inning off with a single and moved to second off the bat of a Dupree Hart sacrifice bunt. Then, Luke Manzo walked on four straight pitches and Richter stole third.

Morgan attempted to score Richter with a sacrifice bunt, but Rooney instinctively gloved it and flipped it home to save a run.

“In my peripheral I saw him coming and I’m like, ‘I got plenty of time to get him,’ so I flipped it with the glove and luckily [the umpire] called him out or that would’ve been trouble,” Rooney said.

Hofstra capitalized in the sixth inning with back-to-back singles from Tyler White and Steven Foster. White advanced to second on a passed ball and moved to third on Foster’s bunt single. Mikey Riesner brought White into score on a sacrifice to tie the game at 1-1.

Sisk intentionally walked Friscia to put runners on first and second, and runners moved to second and third with two outs after a Teddy Cillis groundout.

Gauthier put his defensive struggles aside with two men on and two men out in a tied game and laced a two-run single up the middle to give Hofstra a 3-1 lead after six full innings.

“[Gauthier] had a rough start to the game and to have such a big at bat in that spot, that’s the stuff that gets me going,” said head coach John Russo.

Charleston left a runner on in the seventh inning as Rooney went unscathed in his first inning with a lead. Justin Baker took over mound duty in the seventh for Sisk and kept Hofstra scoreless.

Rooney had his fourth 1-2-3 inning in the eighth before the Pride added four more insurance runs.

Kris Kuhn relieved Baker and issued a lead-off walk to Foster. Reisner singled to move Foster to third before being driven in by Friscia’s third single of the game. Christian Shiver took over for Kuhn and walked the bases loaded.

Rob Weissheier unleashed a bases-clearing double down the left field line to give Hofstra a commanding 7-1 lead.

Rooney surrendered two hits in the ninth inning, but struck out Clay Hunt, looking to finish his masterful complete game performance.

The ace picked up his sixth win of the season, allowing five hits and one unearned run while striking out seven in nine innings.

Hofstra ace John Rooney continued his phenomenal season on Friday, going the distance in a 7-1 win over Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) combatant College of Charleston Cougars at University Field.

In the midst of a six-game losing streak, the Pride turned to Rooney to do what he does best – win. Hofstra evened its record at 15-15 with the victory over the CAA-frontrunner Cougars.

“I didn’t even think about the losing streak, you know when you go out there you just got to focus on your job,” Rooney said.

Evan Sisk took the mound for the Cougars and pitched with a lead behind him from the get-go.

Charleston struck first in the opening inning, reaching base on an Austin Gauthier throwing error and scoring on a single up the middle from Luke Morgan to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Sisk kept Hofstra off the board in the first inning, allowing only one hit, but both pitchers went 1-2-3 in their second inning of work.

Gauthier made his second error of the game in the third, but Rooney was able to retire the side without further damage. The Pride was kept scoreless again in the bottom of the inning.

Rooney sat the Cougars down in order in the fourth before Sisk forced a double play in the bottom half to end the inning. Vito Friscia had both of Hofstra’s hits through the first four innings.

Both teams went three up and three down again in the fifth.

Charleston threatened to score in the sixth with runners on the corners. Tommy Richter led the inning off with a single and moved to second off the bat of a Dupree Hart sacrifice bunt. Then, Luke Manzo walked on four straight pitches and Richter stole third.

Morgan attempted to score Richter with a sacrifice bunt, but Rooney instinctively gloved it and flipped it home to save a run.

“In my peripheral I saw him coming and I’m like, ‘I got plenty of time to get him,’ so I flipped it with the glove and luckily [the umpire] called him out or that would’ve been trouble,” Rooney said.

Hofstra capitalized in the sixth inning with back-to-back singles from Tyler White and Steven Foster. White advanced to second on a passed ball and moved to third on Foster’s bunt single. Mikey Riesner brought White into score on a sacrifice to tie the game at 1-1.

Sisk intentionally walked Friscia to put runners on first and second, and runners moved to second and third with two outs after a Teddy Cillis groundout.

Gauthier put his defensive struggles aside with two men on and two men out in a tied game and laced a two-run single up the middle to give Hofstra a 3-1 lead after six full innings.

“[Gauthier] had a rough start to the game and to have such a big at bat in that spot, that’s the stuff that gets me going,” said head coach John Russo.

Charleston left a runner on in the seventh inning as Rooney went unscathed in his first inning with a lead. Justin Baker took over mound duty in the seventh for Sisk and kept Hofstra scoreless.

Rooney had his fourth 1-2-3 inning in the eighth before the Pride added four more insurance runs.

Kris Kuhn relieved Baker and issued a lead-off walk to Foster. Reisner singled to move Foster to third before being driven in by Friscia’s third single of the game. Christian Shiver took over for Kuhn and walked the bases loaded.

Rob Weissheier unleashed a bases-clearing double down the left field line to give Hofstra a commanding 7-1 lead.

Rooney surrendered two hits in the ninth inning, but struck out Clay Hunt, looking to finish his masterful complete game performance.

The ace picked up his sixth win of the season, allowing five hits and one unearned run while striking out seven in nine innings.